Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to peptide-based adjuvants, associated vaccines, and pharmaceutical or veterinary compositions containing the same.
Description of Related Art
Vaccines may be administered in conjunction with an adjuvant. An adjuvant is a substance that increases the immunological response to a vaccine when administered before, during, or after administration of the vaccine. Adjuvants potentiate the vaccine by stimulating antigen-presenting cells and other immune cells or by controlling the release of antigens from the injection site. An adjuvant may be administered with the vaccine or at a time, manner, or site that differs from the time, manner, or site at which the vaccine is administered. Vaccines containing dead organisms (inactivated vaccines) or pieces of the infectious organisms or their toxins (acellular or recombinant vaccines) generally need adjuvants to boost their effectiveness. Common adjuvants include aluminum hydroxide, aluminum potassium sulfate, other mineral salts, oil emulsions, particulate adjuvants, and microbial derivatives. Modified live vaccines (aka live attenuated vaccines), containing weakened forms of an infectious organism, are generally not administered with an adjuvant and there are few adjuvants available for use with live vaccines. In addition, many adjuvants for use with vaccines are known to cause unacceptable side effects in some patients, including adverse reactions and injection-site reactions, while some are toxic. There is also a large variety of new and future vaccine candidates against infectious, allergic and autoimmune diseases, and also for cancer and fertility treatment, which all require diverse new adjuvants with desirable functions and performance to successfully achieve new vaccine development and implementation. Thus, there is a need in the art for improved adjuvants, and particularly adjuvants that can be used with modified live vaccines.